The Negros Oriental provincial government has gone back to a four-day workweek, its second time this year, as fuel and electricity costs climb again.
At a glance
- Order: Executive Order No. 58, signed by Gov. Manuel “Chaco” Sagarbarria
- Took effect: Monday, Sept. 28, 2026
- Schedule: Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., 40 hours a week
- Exempt: provincial hospitals and health facilities, PDRRMO, emergency, security and custodial units
- First round this year: March 9 to June 8 (ended by Executive Order No. 38)
Governor Manuel “Chaco” Sagarbarria signed Executive Order No. 58, which took effect on Monday, Sept. 28. Capitol employees now report from Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., with a one-hour lunch break, to complete the required 40 hours a week. Friday becomes a non-working day unless an office’s services require otherwise.
Who is covered, and who is not
The compressed schedule applies to provincial government employees, including job order and contract-of-service personnel, who keep the same pay.
Offices that cannot close on Fridays are exempt: the provincial hospitals and other health facilities, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, and crisis-response, emergency, security and custodial units. The governor may exempt other offices as needed.
Energy-saving rules come with it
The order also tells offices to cut back on air-conditioning, lighting and equipment use, hold meetings online where possible, limit and consolidate official travel, avoid idling government vehicles, and track their electricity and fuel use.
Second round this year
The province first moved to a four-day week on March 9, when fuel prices rose during the Middle East conflict. That arrangement ended on June 8, when the governor’s Executive Order No. 38 brought offices back to the regular five-day schedule.
The new order is described as a temporary energy-conservation and cost-saving measure. Residents with business at the Capitol should plan transactions from Monday to Thursday, though frontline health and emergency services continue on Fridays.
Why this matters
For the public, the change mostly affects when Capitol offices are open. Permits, payments and other transactions with provincial offices should be planned for Monday to Thursday, and longer daily hours mean offices stay open until 7 p.m. on those days. Health and emergency services still run on Fridays.
For the province, the bet is that closing most buildings one day a week saves enough on electricity and fuel to matter while prices stay high. The earlier round ran for about three months before offices went back to five days. How long this one lasts is likely to depend on fuel and power prices in the coming weeks.
